National
Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center

Bridging boundaries for research & discovery.

The National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) brings together the science of the natural world with the science of social systems and decision making to solve problems at the human-environment interface. For 10 years, SESYNC has accelerated research and learning that seeks to understand the structure, functioning, and sustainability of coupled social and environmental systems. To further this work, we invite you to explore our research and learning resources.

Learn more about us.

Center Highlights

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Explainer: What Are Ethnographic Methods?

This brief, introductory article explains the fundamentals of ethnography and provides examples of ethnography-driven research questions, as well as published research that integrates ethnographic methods.

Our Latest Newsletter

This month we're exploring how sustainability takes many forms and involves a wide range of approaches and considerations—whether it be increasing resilience in the face of natural disasters; reducing gender inequality; improving systems related to food production, distribution, and consumption; or integrating different methodologies.

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Critical Discourse Analysis: Artificial Intelligence, Social Network, & Social Media Analysis

This explainer shows how researchers can harness software’s quantitative analytical power to enjoy new qualitative insights about complex socio-environmental interactions.